Baldwin enjoys solid qualifier

Seeded No. 5 in a field of 11 in the 285-pound bracket at the Nassau County Division 1 wrestling qualifier last Saturday, Moise Ambroise of host Baldwin produced the biggest upset of the tournament on the way to an unlikely run to the title.
Ambroise, a senior and first-year wrestler, pinned Oceanside’s Brett Moshkovich, the top seed, in the third period of the semifinals (5:07) to highlight a four-win day that first-year Bruins coach Mike Marrero described as “impressive.”
“Moise put in a lot of work all season to maximize his potential,” Marrero said. “He was a football lineman and is very flexible and athlete for a big kid. He redeemed two losses to win the qualifier and we’ll see what he can do next.”
Ambroise, who defeated Sewanhaka East’s Adam Maarouf in the finals, and at least seven teammates advanced to represent Baldwin in the Nassau County D1 Championship Tournament this Saturday and Sunday at Hofstra University’s Mack Sports Complex.
“We’re hoping to get a few wild cards and have 10 kids at counties,” Marrero said. “We took advantage of a lot of practice time the past few weeks.”

Sophomores Nahkin Stevens (101) and Frantz Byron (131) also took home qualifier titles. Senior Paul Clement was runner-up at 190.
Stevens spent the regular season competing at 108 and 116 before making the decision to drop to the lowest weight class. “Nahkin did a great job managing his weight descent,” Marrero said. “He loves wrestling and has great technique. He’s capable of going deep in the county tournament.”
Stevens who was the No. 1 seed, recorded two pins before defeating Syosset’s Anthony Silipo in the final by a 16-5 major decision.
Byron, seeded third, celebrated his birthday by pinning fourth-seeded Muhammad Nasar of Herricks in the title bout in 3:45. “He’s a tough kid with excellent cardio,” Marrero said of Byron. “He might not be well-known around the county, but he’s definitely a kid to watch at Hofstra.”
Marrero said the atmosphere in the gym was electric as Clement battled Oceanside’s Jared Marine for the title at 190. Clement had three pins on the day before being pinned by the top-seeded Marine after a high-scoring first period. “Paul has a good head on his shoulders and won’t let the loss bother him,” Marrero said. “He’s one of the top contenders for the county title and he’ll be ready.”
Baldwin freshman Lenny Budden continued to make strides and finished third in the qualifier at 152, thanks in large part to a 6-4 decision over Oceanside’s Max Gutman in the quarterfinals.
Junior Matt Feeney took third at 215, doing so with three victories in the wrestlebacks following a defeat in the quarterfinals. In the third-place match, Feeney flipped the script on Syosset’s Declan Broggy with a victory by pin. Broggy had taken the quarterfinal matchup, 5-1.
“We’re excited to be practicing this week and looking forward to the best part of the season,” Marrero said.